While the customer relationship management (CRM) software business is growing, Salesforce.com has decided to expand into other markets. Recently, they launched AppExchange, enabling third parties to build applications on this platform.
Morgan Stanley has registered 400 subscriptions to deploy a new application developed on AppExchange. “The successes we have achieved demonstrate how significant ‘on-demand’ software is today,” said Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com. “The AppExchange platform has truly garnered significant interest with 4,400 installations and 97,000 trials. With the already well-known Salesforce.com brand, combined with AppExchange, we hope to continue growing beyond traditional business models.”
Online services can face issues when there is a sudden surge in customers. This has happened to several large companies like eBay and Amazon.com. Salesforce.com also faces a similar challenge but has an immediate solution to support their infrastructure. They recently launched a new website at trust.salesforce.com to assert the reliability of their services and allow customers to access and update information in real time. With this system, Salesforce.com is committed to building and delivering the fastest, safest, and most reliable online services available today.
To best understand Salesforce.com, it is often compared to eBay. Instead of online auctions, Salesforce.com provides online services that help employees track customer accounts, advertising campaigns, and emerging issues… (This process is known as customer relationship management).
Moreover, Salesforce.com does not require companies to pay a large upfront fee but delivers CRM software on a subscription basis. Currently, they attract about 399,000 subscribers. In Q4 2005, the company’s revenue increased by 67% compared to the same period in 2004, reaching $94.1 million. Their customers include small, medium, and large enterprises, including Cisco, ADP, and Merrill Lynch.
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